“RHOBH”'s Erika Jayne Recalls Feeling 'Contempt' for Ex Tom Girardi and 'Turning a Blind Eye' to His 'Other Women'
On Nov. 3, 2020, Jayne filed for divorce after 21 years of marriage and shortly after a source told PEOPLE that alleged infidelity was the reason behind the couple's split
Erika Jayne says she knew her marriage to Tom Girardi was over once resentment set in.
On Friday, Aug, 23, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 53, opened up about the demise of her marriage to the former attorney, 85, and why she chose to turn a "blind eye" to his alleged indiscretions during an appearance on the Two Ts in a Pod podcast.
Prefacing how there were "two stages" to the end of her relationship, Jayne admitted to selling a "perfect" private and public life to viewers on RHOBH despite having their differences behind the scenes. It wasn't until "20 years in" that she began choosing to ignore "all kinds of s---" in order to protect her peace.
Related: Erika and Tom Girardi Divorce: Everything to Know About the Split, Scandal and Alleged Infidelity
"You start ignoring the snide comments or you start ignoring the fights," she explained. "You just kind of want to keep the peace. I don't know if that's turning a blind eye. I mean, in some cases, sure. I definitely looked the other way when I knew Tom had other women in his life just because I didn't feel like dealing with it."
Instead of confronting Girardi for his alleged infidelity, Jayne said she "turned inward and went to work."
"I think when you've had enough and either you leave and you're just like, 'It is what it is,' " she continued. "For me, it was a graduated process. Obviously, every woman is different."
Related: Erika Girardi Reveals She Contemplated Suicide 'Many Times' During Tom Girardi's Legal Troubles
Over time, the Bravolebrity said that her "indifference" turned into "contempt," adding, "when you have contempt in a relationship, it's over."
"I do believe that there was a lot of contempt in my relationship from both parties at the end," she recalled. "Because I often felt like my marriage was pushed to the side, and it wasn't real. And there's no possible way you could love this man [but] actually, I did."
On Nov. 3, 2020, Jayne filed for divorce after 21 years of marriage. One month after the news of her divorce, a source told PEOPLE that Girardi's alleged infidelity was the reason behind the couple's split.
"The reason she divorced Tom is because he was cheating on her with multiple women," a source close to the couple said, adding that Jayne claimed that "she's known about his infidelity for years" but "wanted to try and save the marriage."
"When she was performing her last week on Broadway, he left her high and dry and was frolicking around town instead of supporting her and attending her shows," the insider continued. "She realized she would never be a priority to him and that was her breaking point."
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In December 2020, Girardi, a now-disgraced and disbarred lawyer, became tangled in a complicated web of lawsuits related to his alleged embezzlement of over $15 million worth of client funds for his own personal spending. His legal issues spilled over to Jayne, who was named in a fraud case and slapped with multiple civil suits for allegedly participating in the mistreatment of said funds.
Jayne has since long denied she had any knowledge or involvement, and in August 2022, was cleared of wrongdoing in a criminal case. Since then, she has continued to fight various civil cases and public opinion.
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